“Come in,” Fairfax said after Security Chief Saunders knocked on his door.
“Did you find anything?”
“Nothing, Captain. No one reported seeing him over the last two hours. I am confident that he is not on the ship.”
“Which means he probably went overboard at the time his wife said he did.”
“I’m afraid so, sir.”
Fairfax paused. “The Pearsons were in a cabin on the ultra deck. Is that correct?”
“Yes.”
“So that means when he hit the water he had fallen at least sixty feet. What do you think about his chances of survival?”
“Slim to none, sir. He fell over backwards and he had been drinking. If he survived the fall, he likely would have been knocked unconscious. If that were the case, he would have sunk quickly, especially when you consider how heavy his wet clothes would have been. Even if we had gone back for him immediately, Captain, I don’t believe the outcome would have been different.”
“I know, and I agree,” the Captain sighed. “I’ll call Morrison and fill him in. I want you to call Chaplain Baker and tell him to come and meet me here.”
“Very good, sir,” Saunders said as he headed to the door.
Morrison picked up on the first ring. After explaining how they reached the conclusion that Pearson had to be dead, the Captain told the owner that he and the Chaplain were going over to talk to Pearson’s wife.
The owner’s voice rose to a bellow. “I know the two of you will do a wonderful job breaking the bad news to the woman. Say whatever you have to say to calm her down, but under no circumstances are we going back to look for him.”